Treat guests to a peppermint and dark chocolate delight at your next party.

Ingredients

• 2½ cups icing sugar
• ¼ cup condensed milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1½ tsp pure peppermint extract
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 10 oz 70% dark chocolate
• 2 oz white chocolate (optional)

Directions

1 Add the icing sugar, condensed milk, butter and peppermint and vanilla extracts to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. The mixture will be crumbly but will eventually come together and form a dry dough.

2 Scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the liquid elements and process again.

3 Scrape the dough out onto a clean dry surface and form into a log about 12" long and 1½" in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze for about 30 minutes, until firm. The mint patties will be much easier to slice and dip when cold.

4 Unwrap the log and slice it into 1/3"-thick rounds using a sharp knife. Place the mint patties on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and return to the freezer to firm up while preparing the chocolate dip.

5 To temper the dark chocolate, chop it into small even pieces and place three-quarters of it in a heatproof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. The bowl should be slightly larger than the pot and the bottom of it should not touch the water directly but be perched above it. It is important not to get any drops of water in the chocolate, and to melt it slowly at a gentle heat so that the chocolate doesn’t seize.

6 Stir the chocolate gently with a spatula to help it melt evenly. Heat the chocolate to between 118°F and 120°F. Test this using an instant-read thermometer.

7 Take the chocolate off the heat as soon as it reaches the desired temperature and add the reserved one-quarter of dark chocolate. This is known as “seeding” and will help bring down the temperature of the melted chocolate.

8 Keep stirring slowly and gently until the temperature cools to 80°F. This should take a few minutes.

9 Finally, place the chocolate back on the pot of simmering water and bring it up to 90°F, which is the optimal temperature for coating the patties.

10 Remove from the heat, and use a fork to dip the mint patties into the chocolate one at a time. Working quickly, flip them over to coat both sides and scrape the fork on the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate.

11 Place the coated mint patties back on the baking sheet. Let the chocolate set at room temperature for about an hour. Once the dark chocolate has set, melt the white chocolate (if using) and drizzle or pipe it over the patties to make a decorative pattern. Serve immediately.

Tip: To get a smooth and gloss chocolate coating on the patties it's wort the effort to temper the chocolate. Tempering the chocolate aligns the cocoa butters through a process of heating and cooking the chocolate so that it sets without streaks and bloom. 

Prep and cook time: 1 hour.
Makes: 36 patties.